Nauctis: The Sunken Realm is Magic’s merfolk set. It comes out February 5, 2027, and Wizards of the Coast describes its peoples as “merfolk, seals, homarids, and a few daring humans.” If you play merfolk, or you want a Nauctis Commander deck on day one, these 18 cards are worth picking up before previews start. Sixteen of them cost about $45 together.
My verdict: buy the cheap staples you’ll actually play now. Ten of these 18 cards cost under $2, including two lords, both merfolk commanders and Herald’s Horn. The expensive ones, Cavern of Souls ($48.47) and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling ($25.22), only make sense if you’ll use them, because a merfolk set is exactly where Wizards could reprint merfolk cards.
Prices are TCGplayer market prices for each card’s cheapest regular printing on November 12, 2026.
Table of Contents
Cards to buy before Nauctis at a glance
| Card | Why it matters | Price and reprint risk |
|---|---|---|
| Cavern of Souls | Your merfolk can’t be countered; the best typal land | $48.47 Medium risk |
| Thassa, Deep-Dwelling | Sea god that blinks a creature at the end of each of your turns | $25.22 Low risk |
| Spawning Kraken | Turns sea monster hits into 9/9 Krakens | $12.69 Low risk |
| Herald of Secret Streams | Makes creatures with +1/+1 counters unblockable | $6.31 Medium risk |
| Hullbreaker Horror | Kraken that can’t be countered and bounces a spell or permanent every time you cast | $5.40 Medium risk |
| Koma, Cosmos Serpent | Sea serpent commander that makes a 3/3 every upkeep | $4.79 Low risk |
| Lord of Atlantis | The original merfolk lord | $4.56 High risk |
| Vanquisher’s Banner | +1/+1 and a card for every merfolk you cast | $4.11 High risk |
| Herald’s Horn | Merfolk cost 1 less, plus free card advantage | $1.92 High risk |
| Tishana’s Tidebinder | Flash merfolk that counters an ability | $1.71 Medium risk |
| Master of the Pearl Trident | Second classic lord: +1/+1 and islandwalk | $0.75 High risk |
| Svyelun of Sea and Sky | Merfolk god: draws on attack, gives your merfolk ward | $0.49 Medium risk |
| Hakbal of the Surging Soul | Commander: every merfolk explores each combat | $0.45 Low risk |
| Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca | Commander: taps merfolk to go unblocked, draw and grow | $0.38 Low risk |
| Merfolk Trickster | Flash tapper that shuts off a creature’s abilities | $0.33 Medium risk |
| Merrow Reejerey | Lord that taps or untaps a permanent on every merfolk cast | $0.30 Medium risk |
| Deeproot Waters | Makes a hexproof merfolk token for every merfolk you cast | $0.27 Medium risk |
| Path of Ancestry | Any-color land that scries when you cast your commander’s type | $0.18 High risk |
Prices move fast. Follow @HelloNerdsnack on X for price drops and new chase cards.
Reprint risk is my read, based on how often each card has been reprinted and how well it fits a merfolk set. It isn’t a prediction.
When do Nauctis previews start?
Wizards hasn’t announced a preview schedule yet. Full previews are expected in January 2027, with prerelease events from January 29 and the release on February 5. MagicCon: Atlanta runs November 13 to 15 alongside the Magic World Championship, and Wizards often shares news about upcoming sets at MagicCon events, so watch for Nauctis news this weekend.
The one design detail we know: nothing flies underwater, so Nauctis replaces flying with a new evasion mechanic that hasn’t been named. Our Nauctis release date guide will have it the moment it’s revealed.
Why buy before the reveals?
When a new set adds cards for a creature type, players rebuild those decks, and the older staples for that type get more demand. That’s why typal staples tend to get attention as soon as a set shows its hand.
The risk runs the other way too. If Nauctis reprints a card, its price usually drops. That’s why the cheap staples are the safer buys, and why the table rates each card’s reprint risk. Don’t buy anything here to flip; buy what you’ll play.
Merfolk lords and payoffs
Lords are the heart of every merfolk deck, and they’re the cards a merfolk set is most likely to reprint. That’s the trade-off: Master of the Pearl Trident and Merrow Reejerey cost under a dollar, so there’s little to lose, while Lord of Atlantis ($4.56) is the one to buy only if you’ll play it. Svyelun is the standout value at $0.49: it draws a card on every attack and gives your other merfolk ward.
$4.56
$0.75
$0.30
$0.49
$1.71
$0.33
Merfolk commanders and typal staples
Kumena and Hakbal are two of the best merfolk commanders, and both cost under 50 cents thanks to the 2023 Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander deck. Hakbal’s explore engine pairs well with Herald of Secret Streams, which makes every creature with a +1/+1 counter unblockable. Cavern of Souls is the big-ticket buy: it works in every typal deck you’ll ever build, not just merfolk.
$0.38
$0.45
$6.31
$0.27
$48.47
$1.92
Sea monsters, sea gods and typal backup
An ocean plane should also mean krakens, serpents and leviathans. Spawning Kraken already rewards Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses and Serpents, Hullbreaker Horror is a Commander staple, and Koma is a sea serpent that leads its own deck. Thassa is the pick if Nauctis’s sea gods turn out to be a theme. Vanquisher’s Banner and Path of Ancestry are cheap support for any typal deck.
$4.79
$5.40
$12.69
$25.22
$4.11
$0.18
What about sharks, seals and the other factions?
MagicCon: Detroit’s ticketed-play schedule lists five Nauctis factions: merfolk, humans, sharks, the tentacled Decalids and the Desolators, as PC Games reported on October 30. Wizards’ own announcement also mentions seals and homarids.
Skip those for now. Magic has few older shark, seal or homarid cards, so there’s nothing worth stocking up on until Nauctis shows what those creatures do. One hedge: if the Decalids turn out to be Octopuses or Krakens, Spawning Kraken gets even better.
What to skip
- Flying payoffs. Nauctis has no flying, so cards that reward flyers won’t get new support.
- Foils and special printings. Buy the cheapest regular printing you’re happy with. Premium versions don’t gain more when a set adds support.
- Buying extra copies to resell. A merfolk set is the most likely place for merfolk reprints.
Next step
Bookmark our Nauctis release date guide for the reveals, and see the Darkhold Destiny guide and our cards to buy before Darkhold Destiny for Magic’s next set after it. Building a merfolk deck from scratch? Start with how to build a Commander deck and the best mana rocks for Commander.
Want them all at once? The buttons below load all 18 picks, or just the 16 under $13, into one TCGplayer cart. TCGplayer finds the best prices across its sellers, and you see the full cart before you pay.
Want every pick? Load them into one cart
Sources: Wizards of the Coast’s Nauctis set description (July 2026); MagicCon: Detroit play schedule, via PC Games (October 30, 2026); TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, November 12, 2026. Card images: Wizards of the Coast, via Scryfall.
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